Monitoring Unsolicited Emails or Contact Attempts
Budget: $15 – $25 USD
I’m looking for a reliable academic or professional (preferably with a PhD and a valid .edu email address) to act as a reference contact for graduate school or job applications in the U.S. or other countries.
No actual recommendation writing is required.
Instead, this is part of a privacy protection effort.
Unfortunately, I’ve been targeted by certain individuals attempting to interfere with my academic and career plans abroad. To verify whether this interference is still ongoing, I plan to list your contact as a reference and observe any unsolicited attempts to reach out to you.
### What you will do:
1. Provide your name, position(PhD or higher preferred) and valid .edu email address for use as a reference (on paper only — you will not submit anything).
2. Monitor and **report to me any messages or contact** made by individuals claiming to know me or asking questions about me.
3. We will **discuss together how to respond**, in a way that remains professional and cautious. Hourly fee will be paid based on that.
4. You may remain largely passive — your only task is to forward relevant messages and contact record to me.
**Note on email visibility**: Your email, position and name will be shared with a small number of people in the context of reference requests. Since most PhDs and academics have their email addresses listed publicly (e.g., on lab or university websites), this should not involve any unusual exposure. If this is a concern, we can discuss ways to mitigate it (e.g., using an alias or a dedicated forwarding address).
No actual recommendation writing is required.
Instead, this is part of a privacy protection effort.
Unfortunately, I’ve been targeted by certain individuals attempting to interfere with my academic and career plans abroad. To verify whether this interference is still ongoing, I plan to list your contact as a reference and observe any unsolicited attempts to reach out to you.
### What you will do:
1. Provide your name, position(PhD or higher preferred) and valid .edu email address for use as a reference (on paper only — you will not submit anything).
2. Monitor and **report to me any messages or contact** made by individuals claiming to know me or asking questions about me.
3. We will **discuss together how to respond**, in a way that remains professional and cautious. Hourly fee will be paid based on that.
4. You may remain largely passive — your only task is to forward relevant messages and contact record to me.
**Note on email visibility**: Your email, position and name will be shared with a small number of people in the context of reference requests. Since most PhDs and academics have their email addresses listed publicly (e.g., on lab or university websites), this should not involve any unusual exposure. If this is a concern, we can discuss ways to mitigate it (e.g., using an alias or a dedicated forwarding address).